Dover state rep. pushes to have state quit 'No Child Left Behind' : But wants to amend bill to let state opt out of portions only

Tuesday

Jan 31, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Liz Markhlevskayalmark@fosters.com

DOVER — The House Education Committee voted last week to recommend the passing of two bills relating to the state's withdrawal from No Child Left Behind.

According to Department of Education, if the state withdraws from No Child Left Behind it could potentially lose $61 million in federal funding for the education fiscal year 2012, and similar amounts thereafter.

While HB1413 directs New Hampshire to withdraw from the No Child Left Behind Act, HB1517 would prohibit the state or any political subdivision from entering any agreement implementing provisions of No Child Left Behind without prior approval from the General Court.

Dover City Councilor and state Rep. Michael Weeden, the prime sponsor of HB1413, testified in front of the Education Committee in favor of the bill during a hearing on Jan. 17.

"I was in fifth grade when this bill was passed and I saw first-hand the ineffectiveness of this bill to lay standards of education, at a high cost to the cities and towns of the state, because they don't provide adequate funding for their requests," said Weeden, 20, during his testimony.

In his interview with Foster's on Saturday, Weeden said when he filed the bill, he was not aware of the potential fiscal impact to the state if New Hampshire were to withdraw from No Child Left Behind.

"Personally, I'm fiscally conservative, so $60 million is a lot to me," said Weeden.

The Education Committee's vote Wednesday to support HB1413 was 10-4.

According to Bill Duncan, member of Defending New Hampshire Public Education, although the federal funding that comes with No Child Left Behind provides only about 6 percent of the state's education funding "this money is critical."

Duncan said the federal money goes toward innovative education programs, such as those that incorporate new ways to teach students reading and writing.

Weeden said that he had thought the loss of federal funding as a result of HB1413 would be closer to $20 million, and he did not find out about the $60 million figure until the day before he testified in front of the Education Committee.

Currently, Weeden is working on drafting an amendment to the bill to lessen the financial impact of HB1413. One option is for New Hampshire to opt out of just certain provisions of No Child Left Behind. That way, some of the federal funding would stay in place, he said.

Weeden filed HB1413 in June, before the Obama administration announced during the fall that states will have the option to opt out of elements of No Child Left Behind under certain conditions.

According to Duncan, the version of HB1413 with Weeden's amendment would be a more preferable version of the bill by far.

Weeden said he expects the amendment to be drawn up in the next week or two. He hopes before the full House of Representatives votes on HB1413, it will vote to approve the amendment.

"I'm going to be working toward that, but I cannot predict how the vote is going to go," said Weeden.

For Weeden, the second youngest New Hampshire state representative and recent graduate of Dover High School, Jan. 17 was his first time testifying on a bill.

When No Child Left Behind was implemented, Weeden said he witnessed that teachers "started teaching to the test rather than teaching the best way for students to learn."

He said too much emphasis is focused on the New England Common Assessment Program test, which students in select grades take in October. The test is meant to measure whether schools are on track in meeting students' targeted performance. But according to Weeden, emphasis on the test groups students together and fails to track individual students' progress from beginning to end.

In addition, "The students don't necessarily try their hardest because it doesn't relate to their grade," said Weeden of the NECAP test. He suggested SAT tests, during which students try their hardest, might be a better way to gauge their academic achievements.

Weeden said that in drawing up the HB1413 bill, he was envisioning the state coming up with its own education program and curriculum to benefit its students, one that empowers teachers on a higher level.